Core'dinations Intro ......

It's my day to be introduced over on the Core'dinations Blog !!  I am sharing this layout over there today so I thought I'd post it here too ...... 

I've had this photo sitting on my desk for EVER and I really wanted to work with it.  The colors of our wedding were black & white with red roses so I pulled out as many reds as I could to work into this layout !!

 I punched out several hearts and then embossed a few using some fave Darice embossing folders.  I LOVE the Core Couture Glitter cardstock and added in some pearl Gemstones behind the photo too !! The red embossed border along the left of the layout was cut from the Kraft Core Seasonal Impressions - LOVE it ......

I even added a few bits from the David Tutera Celebrate Card Making System by Core'dinations.  A white border along the top of the photo mat, the small silver heart, red gem and the twine too !!

YOU CAN WIN .... Head over to the Core'dinations Blog and .... COMMENT TO WIN !!! Every day during our Design Team Introductions you could win some fantastic cardstock collections ..... Good Luck :))

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

YES - I'm still here .....

Well holy smokes it has been a LONG time since I opened my computer !!!  I have been away with my girl horse showing for the past 2 weeks and we are starting week 3 before we head home ..... We are having a great time even though there's been WAY more rain than sun .....

I do have some great projects coming up on the Bella Blvd. and Core'dinations Blogs soon so you'll have some fun inspiration from me too ..... but until then I thought I'd share a little bit of what we've been up to out here ......

..... my girl on her mare going over their course with her trainer before heading into the ring .....

..... a little break to try and teach the puppy to jump ?!

..... Can't go to a horse show and not check out the on site tack shops ;))

Ginger got some new jammies ..... and yes, I am sure she is slightly embarrassed !!!

Marshall trying to get in on the Grand Prix celebrating ......

Emma was asked to catch ride this cute little pony for these super great trainers from the Okanagan ..... such a treat ..... 

Quick trip into the ER for a check up after a nasty fall (yes, she is all good and REALLY not happy I took this picture - clearly ;))

BUT ..... most of all this is what I have been watching day after day.  A huge smile on my girl doing what she loves the best :))

Thanks for stopping by and checking in ..... Make sure to come back later this week for some fun projects that I'm excited to share with you !!!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

Over on the Bella Blog ....

So I mentioned on monday that this week was all about weddings at Bella Blvd. with Stephanie getting married this weekend !!!

The whole team create a wedding layout and gave a little piece of advice heading into her big day .....

..... today is my turn on the BLOG !!

I used a Core'dinations spotted embossed cardstock for my base .... then added lots of pieces from Bella's  'Love and Marriage' collection ....

I love the strips if designer tape along the bottom mixed with crochet hearts and word stickers too .....

My advice to the happy couple .......

I am so lucky to have been married to Scott for 15 years this coming August and boy have I learned A LOT in those years. The number one piece of advice I can honestly say has gotten us here today is our communication. Scott & I talk ALL THE TIME. He's the one I can spend hours with and never look for something to say. We disagree just like anyone else. BUT. We always talk it out. I say he's my favorite and it's true. Just remember to keep talking to each other no matter what and everything will work itself out. Xoxoxo

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

A Give-Away and a Wedding

Happy Monday everyone .... I sure hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday ??!!  I spend mine with my kids and the horses and dogs and ended with dinner out with my Mom .... great day !!!

This is a SUPER exciting time over on the Core'dinations blog ..... for the next 2 weeks they'll be introducing the entire new Design Team ..... AND they are giving away a pack of cardstock EVERY DAY !!!

You'll get to meet the team, be inspired by our projects AND have the chance to WIN FREE CARDSTOCK ...... Make sure to head over the BLOG each day and get in on the fun !!!

It's also an exciting time over on the Bella Blvd. Blog this week ..... Stephanie is getting married this coming weekend !!!  The whole team has gotten together to give her a peek at each of our wedding days AND a little piece of advice as to what makes our own marriages work !!!

Head over to check out some super sweet layouts all week long .... trust me, you're going to see several pretty 'old' photos :)))  It's going to be fun .....

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

A Mother's Day Bouquet ....

I'm up over on the Core'dinations Blog today with this super sweet Mother's Day project !!!

Mom’s always love to get a handmade gift for Mother’s Day so why not a bouquet of ‘flowers’ ….. Core’dinations Color Core Cardstock flowers to be exact 

First, I adhered brown Shattered Cardstock to the outside of my ‘flower box’  and then added the ribbon around the outside top edge of the box and added a bow.  I stamped my sentiment on a white Core Tag and then ran it through my die cutting maching using a flourish embossing folder and then used a blue Core Bookmark and did the same thing but with a different pattern.  To make them work well together I cut the bottom off of the blue one and rounded the corners. I added a couple of punched leaves just under a twine tied button before adhereing this to the center of my bow .

Using some of my fave Core cardstock textures and colors I set to work punching all shapes and sizes of flowers before running them through my die cut machine with several different embossing folders !!

  I sanded and adhered them all together keeping some flat and adding 3D foam to several as well.  I tied twine into some fun buttons and adhered them to the center of the flowers ….. I even got a few butterflies into the mix and added some adhesive backed pearls too.

I adhered each flower to a thin wooden kabob stick.  Once my ‘bouquet’ was complete, I added a styrofoam ball to the bottom inside and covered it with white crinkle cut paper.  Then I was able to gently push my flower ’stems’ into the styrofoam and have them stand where I wanted them.

I love how this came together and now my mom can enjoy this pretty ‘bouquet’ all year long without ever having to think about watering it!

TFL ..... Talk soon,

j. xo

a wedding card .....

I thought I'd share a card I made for a friends upcoming wedding ......

I used a 5 x 7" David Tutera Celebrate creme card base and then started layering on some My Minds Eye "Miss Caroline" .....

...... I punched butterflies and flowers and sanded and layered and sanded and layered some more !!!

I tucked in a few decorative pins and added some jewels and brads ..... added a sentiment sticker from the Bella Blvd. Miniatures and a really LOVE how it all came together :))

Now I must get it in the mail !!!

TFL .... Talk soon.

j. xo

NSD Re-Cap ......

Hey there crafty ladies !!!  I am home from a super fun weekend at Crop & Create in Burnaby .... so great to see so many friends and have so many laughs ....... my fave saying from the weekend was "I think I peed my pants a little a lot" ......  and I think I need one more good nights sleep to get back to 'normal' ;))

Got to meet up with Elle of Elle's Studio at CHA in January so it was awesome to catch up with her at Crop & Create ..... She is soooooo sweet and talented !!

Summer and I met at this event last year and have stayed in touch ...... It is so great to get to visit when we can ..... I find her incredibly inspiring !!

I shared this Make 'n' Take with the attendees for The Memory Workshop while I was there and it was a HUGE hit .....

...... and yes, Margie and Beth even created one too !!

I can't wait to share my time with these ladies again ...... 

 ...... BUT, no rest for this Mom - I was up early Sunday morning to take the ferry from Vancouver back to Victoria to catch Em's last lesson with a fantastic clinician that was up from California .....

  

 ..... I finally got home to Parksville late last night after picking up my boy and both dogs ..... a great end to a great weekend - now back at it !!!

I've got some more projects coming at you this week so come on back .....

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

National Scrapbook Day

Happy National Scrapbook Day !!!  

How great is it to have a special day completely dedicated just to us crazy creative scrappy girls .....

I am writing this to you from my hotel room in Burnaby at Crop & Create ...... we're having such a fantastic time !!!

All of us Bella Blvd. girls were asked to create a layout ALL ABOUT US .... I loved this challenge and am so excited about what I came up with.

I decided to REALLY journal on this layout as I wanted to document where I am right now.  once I started writing, it just went on and on ..... but I am so happy with how it all came together.  

I wanted the words to be the focus but i love these photos of me .... it is not very often that I like pics of me but these ones we some that Scott took of me and I really like them because I can remember how he made me laugh while he was taking them ......

I added some fun embellishments in colors that represent me and my journaling.   The blue is my absolute fave so I added this great feather and all the little bits to pull it all together ......

(if you open this in another tab you can blow it up to read it :))

Once I was done,  my kids asked if they could read it and they loved it.  I think it is stories like this that they are going to want to read years down the road and that makes me happy to know that they will have a story from each year about their mom ....  remembering to step out from behind the camera once in a while is important !!!

Make sure to head over to the Bella Blog and check out all the other great layouts from the team ...... Then go over to Core'dinations and see all they've got going on ....... and don't forget to check out the Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog ALL DAY LONG ..... They've got some pretty fun things happening over there so make sure to have a good look and then go get scrapping :))

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

Day 5 of layouts ..... and a Contest too !!

Today is the last day in my week of layouts .... BUT that does not mean there aren't any more to come !!!

Tomorrow is National Scrapbooking Day and I will be in Burnaby with the Scrapbook and Cards Today team at 

Crop & Create ...... 

This is a fun layout featuring more Bella Blvd. "Love & Marriage" .....  I am absolutely LOVING this collection and find myself using it for so many layouts !!!

 I will also have a layout featured on the Bella Blvd. Blog tomorrow too so make sure to come on back to see what I have for you as well as the rest of the Bella team as we're sharing all day long :)))

Now go and check out a fun CONTEST that BC Crop for Kids has going on .... You could win an AMAZING prize package from them and ME !!

I'll be teaching my super fun ALL DAY Layout Workshop on June 1st in Maple ridge and there are still a few spots available.  Come out and support a fantastic charity while creating (20) plus layouts AND your meals are included ..... doesn't get better than that !!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

Day 4 in my week of layouts ....

This is such a fun layout of a friends' daughter a few summers ago ..... She was playing in a little bouncy castle and the way the sun hit her little blonde head was so sweet !!!

I used a spotted Core'dinations base (LOVE this embossed cardstock) .... and then added some great papers and embellishments by Echo Park Paper from their "Hello Summer" collection ......

LOTS of dimension on this one .... chip shapes, punched shapes, chip alphas, buttons and even some designer tape by Bella Blvd. too !!

LAST DAY tomorrow and then back again next week with a recap of my weekend with the Scrapbook & Cards Today Crop & Create team in Burnaby !!!

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo

Day 3 .... another layout

I have been LOVE-ing the "Love and Marriage" collection by Bella Blvd.  

I've got LOTS of wedding photos between my own (15 years ago ;)), my brothers, Scott's brother and friends ..... so I've been having such a great time working thru them with this great paper !!

My fave part on this layout is the journal sticker that I cut into (2) pieces - LOVE how it all came together .....

I am off to the spa today (my birthday was yesterday) and I can not WAIT for my massage so I must run :))

TFL ..... Talk soon.

j. xo